(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
When do you get eternal life?
Intro:
Yesterday I got all choked up as I read our OT passage. You could sense Ezekiel’s anguish, and almost like you could hear God’s anguish, too, as he witnessed his wife cheating on him. And even in the midst He reiterated a promise to remove their hearts of stone and replace them with hearts of flesh.
And honestly, for me I was instantly in my spirit praying, even as I read to you. I had a chance to give my old car to my estranged son. It was the most positive thing to have happened in six years. My former spouse was the nicest she’s been in that long, too. So part of me breaking down was realizing that in some cases only God can break through…and he does.
And I want that for you. Today we finish the book of 1 John, and it has this ending that seems, at first blush, to be rather abrupt. And, as you’ll hear, it sounds a little weird. But we’ll address that as we wrap up this little series about knowing God, and we’ll answer today’s focus question, “When do you get eternal life?”
New Testament segment:
Passage: 1 John 4:7-5:21
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 35
Words: ~830
It may appear that John’s final address is somewhat anticlimactic, but in reality it confirms a very important truth he has been establishing in this last section of the epistle and in the entire epistle itself: Reject the false and embrace the real.(1)
We’ll touch on this a little more in our Bottom Line segment as we then answer today’s focus question, When does eternal life begin?
Old Testament segment:
If we zoom out on the book of Ezekiel, the first 3 chapters are about God’s call on Ezekiel’s life. Then chapters 4-24 are broadly speaking, God’s judgment on the southern kingdom of Jerusalem and Jerusalem, home to the temple and God’s presence. And rather climactically yesterday, God removed himself from among them. Today we hear of the anticipation and confirmation of the consequences, that they’d be taken into exile as slaves to Babylon.
Passage: Ezekiel 12
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 28
Words: ~818
One note: we have the benefit of history…readings of God making promises and then those things actually happening. That, my friends, is a reminder that the promises we look forward to are ones we can count on.
Wisdom segment:
Passage: Psalm 138
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 8
Words: ~131
The bottom line:
If we look at 1 John as a whole, we find that
…difficulties arose within this community. Some of the members espoused beliefs about the person and work of Christ that were unacceptable, denying that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, come in the flesh (1 John 4:2–3) and denying also, it would appear, that his death was necessary to provide for forgiveness of sins (1 John 5:6–7). A sharp disagreement arose, and those who embraced these views seceded from the community (1 John 2:19).
The secessionists were not content to keep their beliefs to themselves. Some of them became itinerant preachers who circulated among the churches and propagated their beliefs (1 John 2:26; 4:1–3; 2 John 7). This created confusion among those who remained loyal to the gospel as proclaimed by the eyewitnesses at the beginning. As a result some began to question whether they really knew God, were experiencing eternal life, and were in the truth.(2)
And between 1 John and 2 & 3 John, which we’ll read over the next couple days, John uses the word “know” 38 times. So…
1 John was written to bolster their assurance by providing criteria they could use to evaluate the spurious claims of the secessionists and with which they could reassure themselves (1 John 1:5–2:2; 2:3–11; 3:7–10, 14–15; 4:4–8, 13–15; 5:13, 18–20).(2)
Oddly, the last line warns readers to keep away from idols, and it’s useful to remember
Jewish writers habitually traced the various sins of the Gentiles back to the root problem of idolatry; and especially was this true of sexual sins.(3)
And what did John say right before this final warning about idols?
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true one. We are in the true one—that is, in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 1 Jn 5:20, CSB
This text doesn’t tell us when eternal life begins, and to be fair, it’s slightly a trick question. As Christians we’re likely to think, “Oh, when we’re saved.” But it really begins at conception…and it’s at the moment when we put our trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior that the destiny of that eternality changes from death to life, from hell to heaven.
Today there are many people who profess to know God and have fellowship with Him but do not demonstrate such faith at all. John’s tests concerning obedience, love, and belief provide warnings for the unfaithful as well assurance for genuine believers. To be sure that we know God, we must keep His commandment. If we lack love for others, it indicates we do not know the love of God in our hearts. Foundationally we must believe rightly about Jesus Christ. He is the Christ, the Son of God, who has come in the flesh. This important triad calls the contemporary church to a strong, balanced faith. We must grow stronger and stronger in all areas of our Christian life.(4)
And in the truest sense of ‘now and not yet,’ we don’t do that if we focus on heaven at the expense of the Kingdom of God on earth now, and we don’t do that if we focus on the Kingdom of earth now at the expense of eternal destiny.
I love you. Amen? Amen.
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Daniel L. Akin, 1, 2, 3 John, vol. 38, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001), 215.
(2) Douglas J. Moo, “The Letters and Revelation,” in NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 2255.
(3) Douglas J. Moo, The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2008), 258.
(4) David S. Dockery, ed., Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), 776.